redshiftlogs | [ closed ] Not All Futures are so Bright

WHO: Shepard & Garrus
WHAT: Garrus has been avoiding having a particular conversation. Shepard isn't going to wait anymore.
WHEN: End of Jan
WHERE: Living quarters
WARNINGS: TBD; Mass Effect Spoilers I guess???

[ It's already been a couple of months since the Turian had arrived in this weird place. To be fair, he hasn't entirely adjusted to being here. Frankly speaking, Garrus is just happy to be able to eat something and not have to worry about dying. In fact, he is actually pretty pleased about how that entire affair has turned out because it's not some nutrient paste that Garrus is being given. Usually he just would have to sigh and bear it unless they chanced to go to the Citadel.

At the moment, Garrus is in his shared quarters with Shepard. Oh he has no issues sleeping in the same place as she. In his time they had been doing that rather frequently. He's can't even count the times that he has slipped into her quarters or the human has thought to trap him in the Main Battery.

Garrus, however, doesn't quite sleep soundly. The things that he's seen and the sacrifices that have had been made? Some of them his calls? Some times that really doesn't permit him to rest as often as he would like. Too many nightmares or memories that are recalled when he tries. The Turian always brushes it off, of course. That's why he's here now, to see if he can't get in a quick nap. So no one can be the wiser. ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ Really, how could Garrus be any less than haunted? Even knowing that his home planet would be safe, he still had to watch the Reapers come in. Even with six months to prepare, it hadn't been enough. So many had to die just to hold them at Menae and even that... Even hat hadn't been enough.

And, of course, there is the other part. Garrus doesn't even know if his girlfriend is actually alive or not. Whatever she had done to rid them of the Reapers had done a number on the galaxy as well.

He hears her come in and Garrus? Well he doesn't suspect her of anything. ]

Like you even have to ask?

[ Shepard smiles at him, small and fond and just that smallest bit amused. ]

Hey, you could be busy. Catching the latest gossip on the city's newspaper.

[ Which isn't a bad idea, now she's said it. Crew-made magazines are common enough on ships and isolated research stations: why not here? Something to suggest later.

She sits down on the coach and her expressions turns sombre. ]

I need to ask. About the Reapers, and what happened before you got here.

Unless there is a giant gun lying around, I don't think I'm gong to be overly busy, Ru.

[ He attempts to make something of a joke anyway. His skill set hasn't entirely been useful.

Then she sits across from him. Something in his gut sinks. Garrus has a feeling he knows what is coming, just from the way that her expression changes. When the question comes, his mandibles twitch.

Right. That. ]

Rufina, I'm not really sure that's a good idea...

Maybe not. I am asking anyway.

[ Her gaze is steady, direct. ]

[ The Turian gives something of a huff and a groan in response. Of course she'd be persistent in this. ]

All right. Go ahead and hit me with your questions.

[ This isn't really a good idea. At all. ]

[ Because this is Garrus, she looks apologetic. A little. She gives him more slack than anyone else, but...

But this is about the Reapers. ]

How long after I turned myself in do they appear? And where do they hit first?

Edited 2020-01-26 05:35 (UTC)

[ Some of that Garrus can't answer. Does anyone really know where the Reapers first touched down? ]

About six months. They came in force and hit several places at once. Earth was... Well let's just say you definitely go their attention.

[ She has to ask. If she's doing this, she has to ask. Even if she doesn't like the answers.

Like this one. ]

Yes. The Collectors gave me a head's up about that one.

[ It's not sarcastic. Just... flat. It's one thing to ask. It's another to get answers. ]

Palaven?

[ No, she won't like the answers, but of course she wouldn't be Shepard if she is anything less than stubborn and headstrong. Garrus, naturally, couldn't have come to respect and, ah, adore Ru if she hadn't had those qualities. Even if they hadn't been involved with one another, the Commander would still be his best friend. ]

It wasn't pretty... And for the most part the other Council races seemed pretty okay with Earth being a sacrificial - [ A pause because he doesn't really know the correct word? ] Er... Just being a sacrifice so they could focus on their planetary defenses.

[ Of course the Turian says this but they both know how the Council races are. They only care about their own despite the fact that they should be focusing on the well being of the galaxy at large.

Though she has to ask about Palaven, doesn't she? Garrus wrings out his hands. He doesn't actually know what is left of his planet. ]

Palaven... Let's just say that we fared better than Thessia. We put up a good fight, but he Reapers eventually pushed passed Menae and got to the planet's surface.

Lamb. Sacrificial lamb. [ There's a pause. ] Or goat. Goats are meaner, let's go with that.

[ Because she knows her species. Generalisations are hard with humans, as they are with every species - maybe more so because they don't have a single coherent culture. But humans are stubborn, and creative, and tend to take invasions as a sign to go, 'oh, yeah? well fuck you, have a Molotov cocktail to the face'.

And if she thinks like that, she won't scream with frustration at something that hasn't even happened to her yet. ]

God, Garrus, I'm-

[ Sorry. She's sorry. She's a child of Earth, he's a child of Palaven, and he wrings his fucking hands. She can read so much in that gesture alone. ]

I'll do what I can. Whenever I get back to my time. Whatever I can do.

[ Because, fuck the Reapers. ]

I can't imagine you spent six months twiddling your thumbs. Did you get to warn anyone?

Not that I know what either of those really are, you know. [ And he probably never will. ] So the comparison doesn't help me at all unless I go and do a search.

[ It's a bit of deflection from the topic at hand and he knows. However, when she starts to say sorry, even if she hadn't cut herself off, Garrus would. Already his hand is going up to do just that. Platitudes don't really make either of them feel better. ]

Technically, Shepard, you already did. You've already done more than your fair share for the entire galaxy. More than anyone else. And it isn't as bad as you think, for me. My father and sister made it off Palaven and are safe. That's more than some people can say.

[ And oh is he thankful that his father and sister are fine. Garrus just doesn't know if Rufina is all right or not. ]

Speaking of my father... I told him about the Reapers. Strangest thing happened: he believed me. Then he took it to the Primarch and, uh, well. [ Shrug. ] Let's just say I did everything with the token job title and when the invasion began, we were more prepared than any other race.

[ Platitudes? Even the genuine ones, they are just words. What she wants to do is swing into action. Do something. Everything. As if she could stop an entire alien invasion through sheer will.

And Garrus' protest that she has, already, doesn't change that. She doesn't remember doing anything. But- ]

Good, that's. I'm glad they got out.

[ Glad because anyone getting out is good, and glad because it's Garrus' family, and Shepard has moments where she wants to move the universe to keep him from losing anything else.

She'd seen what losing his men had done. Family? From she's observed in other people, that's different. Harder. ]

Hey, that's not nothing. And that's better than I was expecting, as far as support goes.

[ Briefly, something teasing and proud crosses her face. ]

You're nearly as stubborn as me. You'd get shit done.

[ closed ] Not All Futures are so Bright

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